Shdow Incarnate
by Speed the Ancient
Summary: A former slave must now give up her freedom to stop an ancient and deadly force from pulling this world into the Void. Shadow's will live and the elements will become personified. Rated T - Language and Violance.


Tessa

Author Note: Tessa is a shape changer: Her true form is an Argonian but she can also become any of the other races. Please enjoy.

_Middas 15__th__ Frostfall 1E 70_

_We have made fine progress towards the old ruins under The Throat of the World. The first week was torture; I have no clue how the Nords can stand this cold; oh how I yearn for the warm sands of Anvil and to be with you once again my love. When we arrived; the guards had to fight off a small encampment of those Falmer creatures; be grateful we only have to deal with goblins._

_We entered the ruins shortly after and Talen was already barking orders to set up base camp; she is one of the better members of our guild chapter house, I am indeed glad to have her here with us. These ruins are amazing, we have already determined that they predate the Human migration from Atmora; can you believe it love, these ruins are older than even the Dragon Cult, maybe even before the Snow Elves._

_The guards have set up a perimeter near the entrance, I will say that I am nervous having members of the Morag Tong with us; but I guess the Dunmer did help fund the expedition so they too have a stake in its success._

_Morndas 20__th__ Frostfall 1E 70_

_Such little time has passed and I already know we have made a terrible mistake, I have no clue what we have uncovered but I know one thing; I will not live to see my son born. I have seen the darkness creeping up the ruins, each day it claims one or two of us but still it is not satisfied; when they are taken their screams echo for only a moment before the harrowing silence follows._

_I have made plans to seal off the ruins but not before I send this to you my love; I am sorry I will never get to meet our beautiful son, forgive me; my arrogance…_

Age had made the rest of the journal unreadable but perhaps some things were better left unread by others. Tessa closed the crumbling journal and placed it back in her pack, turning her attention back her mug of piss brown ale, groaning at the distasteful liquid; Tessa stood up from her seat at the bar; making sure that her three-quarter length tail didn't knock over the stool. Tessa turned to face the bar and was greeted by an aging Dunmer; grey balding hair, crimson red eyes, crooked nose and thin lips, he would win no beauty contests but Tessa was not in the running either.

The young Argonian was only half way through her second decade and already she had more scars on her than a veteran soldier. Her scales were coloured a venom green; courtesy of her father, her eyes a piercing yellow, her sharp teeth protruded from her top lip, bleached horns rose from the crown of her head, built lean but strong she could heft a Nord with ease, her tail ridged with spines until it stopped abruptly; the missing end, a mark of a rebellious slave.

Tessa fished into her pouch, removed a few Drakes and placed them on the stone bar. With not a single word, Tessa turned and walked to door; she was stopped suddenly when a harsh hand fell on her shoulder. "I know you; yur the Blood Dragon right? You got yurself a nice bounty on yur head. Might claim it myself, life like a Jarl for a few years." It was not his voice but his stench that let Tessa knew she was dealing with an Orc, common sense told her to wait until she was out in the open; ale told her to knock him on his arse, she chose the latter.

Tessa grabbed the Orc by his wrist and flipped him clear over her shoulder; his surprised scream made the Argonian chuckle but she had little time for merriment as the Orc's friends were already bearing down on her. Grimfang would do her no good in these tight quarters, so instead she unleashed her inner seals and allowed her magicka to flow freely. A purple orb grew from her right palm and when she tossed it into the air; it began to grow and shape, when she caught it; it had taken on the form of a Daedric longsword.

Orcs charged her but each was a big as a fool as was to be expected. Weapons drawn: battleaxes and greatswords alike. Each fighter took a swing at her, she had to admit; they were at least smart enough to not swing at the same time. Tessa counted six men in total; three swung too wide and ended up imbedding their weapons in either a stonewall or the floor; one even managed to lose grip of his weapon and sent flying into a nearby mounted Netch hide. Tessa quickly dispatched them with swift cuts of her ethereal sword, blood painted the blank stone floor a deep crimson, she had made sure to only wound them; she had to keep _that_ in check.

The last two had more brains and as such decided to flank her; both men staying out of his partner's weapon range; Tessa parried a strike from her frontline attacker and only just managed to roll out of the way from a rear attack by her rear opponent. Tessa was assaulted down to her knees as both men struck at her relentlessly, growling at the assault; Tessa tried to plot a counter attack but none came to mind.

Just as she was about to give up; when a dark and wicked feeling ripped through her body, pain racked her body but she refused to give it any purchase in her mind. With all her strength Tessa forced herself to stand, the Orcs saw her movement and increased their assault. The strain was becoming too much for Tessa bare, she was holding back the lesser of two evils with her sword but what was creeping through her was by far the greater.

"That's it lads! Kill that dumb lizard!" Shouted the Orc who had tried to stop her earlier.

"Sorry. But I don't think she wants to go with you." Tessa felt a wave of relief rush through her when she heard the voice of a man she called friend in these frozen lands

"I agree with Farkas here. Lay off her before you taste our steel." This voice belonged to an woman and an Imperial to boot, only one name came to Tessa's mind: Ria.

"Who they hell do ya think ya are? This is my bounty, now beat it!" The Orc made the mistake of raising his voice to Farkas; the sound of an ironclad fist colliding with a skull filled the ears of any patrons that had not fled the tavern already. The Orc screamed in pain as he clutched at his busted nose; blood seeping through the fur of his gauntlets. "Damn it! What the hell do ya think yur do'in?" The Orc was ready to fight went suddenly a knife was placed to the nape of his neck; he gave out very audible gulp.

"I see now / a worthy gift / may Sithis' love / fill your soul." Tessa did not know this voice but she noticed the harsh rasp of a Khajiit in her voice.

"Tsiya. That's enough." This voice was defiantly a voice that reassured Tessa, he was a man that would survive anything the world threw at him; after all; he had survived the death of his _family_. Nazir was a man Tessa could trust.

"Fine. But if you ever bother the Blood Dragon again." Tsiya leaned in and whispered something in the Orc's ear, whatever she said; caused him to pale instantly; she then stood back up and said. "That's a promise."

Tsiya let the Orc go; with his freedom and life returned to him, the Orc made a run for the door but just as he was about to leave; the sound of a sharp object flying through the air filled the now eerie quiet, he collapsed against the door with a dull thud and a small groan. All eyes fell on the ethereal sword lodged in his back, Tessa played on the surprise of her opponents with a quick Thunderbolt spell; directly through their skulls.

"Tessa! What the hell was that about?" Farkas sounded clearly angry but Tessa didn't really care.

"I thank you for helping me back there. However, if this is about that journal, I will give you the same answer I gave the Collage, Thieves, Merchants, Blades and the Thalmor. It ain't gonna happen." Tessa made for the door but Ria blocked her path. "I recommend you move out of the way Ria."

Ria remained in the way and when she held Tessa's gaze she went for her sword, Farkas was the one that made her stop. "Not time for that Ri. Fine Tessa, tell me then. What did you find?" Ria released her sword and Farkas let her go. Tessa gave the small group a confused look but their faces told her she would be able to fool them.

"A power that needs to stay hidden." Tessa gave them a melancholic look that told them a different story.

Nazir was the one to respond to her thoughts. "What have you done Tessa?"

Tessa lifted her hand into clear view of the group, at first nothing was out of the ordinary until a shadowy mist crawled over the appendage. Each member of the group stared at her hand with mystery. "I found it. At the bottom of the ruin, beneath the Black Lake, past the Crypt and there you will find it. Shadow Incarnate."

Farkas went off the handle right then. He sprang forward, gripped Tessa by the shoulders; anger burning in his eyes, and he could not contain his words. "You took it! Tessa we agreed to destroy it! All the guilds supported you, but you lied to us! You wanted the power for yourself!" Tessa remained still for a moment, she barely even drew breath when suddenly her knee went high and hit Farkas straight in the groin.

Armour; no matter how thick could not stop that attack. Farkas fell to the floor; he just held his groin in a failing attempt to stop the pain. Tessa had an evil gleam in her eye. "I don't like to be touched. You should know that by now Farkas." Tessa went to the door and walked out into the cool night air.

Nirnhold. A small town on the Morrowind-Skyrim border, it was a garrisoned by Imperial Troops and held fealty to the Jarl of Windhelm: Brunwulf Free-Winter. The town had been built two years after the Civil War; ended by the Dragonborn's blade severing the traitor Ulfric's head from his shoulders. Ten years had passed by since then, peace had returned to Skyrim, and thanks to the Voice of the Dragonborn; the Dragons had agreed to becoming the Protectors of Tamriel but leaving the mortals to life normal lives.

Tessa had been there to witness that momentous occasion: Dragon, Blade, Empire and Greybeard; all convaying with each other and with the greatest power the world had ever known was formed. The Thalmor had however tried to use this time to finish what they failed to do; many years prior. An assassin of the Thalmor tried to kill the newly appointed Emperour; however the first General of the Dovah Regiment: Odahviing; caught them in his powerful jaws and killed them switly.

Relising that true peace could never be a reality so long as the Thalmor still existed; a swift decesion was made and the Dovah Regiment flew south by south-west towards the Summerset Isles. With legionares riding atop their backs, the Empire had pulled off what had been to be believed impossible. Destroying the Thalmor.

The Aldmeri Dominan had then acreed to rejoin the Empire and hoped to someday be seen as welcome citizens of Tamriel once again.

Tessa sat on a nearby bench, breathing the in the cool night air; allowing it to clear her head of the effect of ale. The shuffle of feet caused the Argonian to open her eyes and look upon the intruder of her quiet time; it was a large group of armoured guards. Anger ripped through Tessa at the sight of the emblem printed into the leather armour: House Vale. "Tessa. We have come to return you to our lord. We have been ordered to treat you kindly." The young commander was a man Tessa reconised: Bervaso Adlain.

Bervaso Adlain was a commander of the Vale Militia; the small army that served the royal family of Azura Bay; a small nation, free from the rule of Tamriel. It is ruled by the Vales; a powerful family of Dunmer, due to their segregation from the mainland; they see little reason to follow its laws: such as the abolishment of slavery. This was the life Tessa lived until her _gift_ blossomed, after that she was called to serve Lord Madran Vale; as his personal seer.

The man had been the kindest to her in the life as a slave; he had frequently stopped the other; crueller guards, from beating her. Was indeed handsome: light blue skin, high cheekbones, a button nose,

"So the brat prince took his father's place?" Tessa did not even try to hide the malice in her voice. She had little love for any of the Vales.

Bervaso bowed his head at her response. "Does he derserve your malice? Bright-Eyes." Tessa jumped back at hearing that name again; she felt a blush spread across her face and hoped the dark of the night would hide it.

"D-Don't call me that!" She shouted back at the Dunmer; but she slowly felt her anger leaving her.

"He has abolished the right to own slaves and has ensured that anyone who refused to do so; be exiled from the Bay, he has done this and more. He said a certain friend of his; made him see the light. If you think me a lier; just look upon the men and woman accompanying me." He waved his hand to the group of soldiers; who at his gesture began removing their helmets. Among the small number of Dunmer; was a larger number of Argonians. "As you know: The Fool decreed; that slaves could not serve within the militia, well Lord Nathyn removed that order and said that 'any former slave who choses to serve, will be treated as an equal. Those who do not can still live among my people as free citizens' He has become a man to be proud of Tessa."

Tessa had to admit; she missed her _little brother_. "I can't." Those two words hurt more than what she has endured her whole life. "I want to see him again, to sing with him again and to laugh with him again. But I'm not the same as I was back then!" Tessa had tears in her eyes; she tried to control herself but what she had to say; had to be said.

Bervaso sensed where this was heading and waved his men off. "Go and enjoy a night at the tavern, but keep the drunkeness to a minimum; but not all the way." He winked at his men; who got his message loud and clear. After his men had dispersed, Bervaso sat next to Tessa and wraped his arm over her shoulder. Tessa leaned into him and allowed herself to cry the tears she had kept sealed away for far too long, when she was finished and her sobs had become nothing but silent spasms; she pulled away from the Dark Elf and looked him the eye; rubbing the tears from her eyes. "I can never go back."

Bervaso just smiled at the woman he loved; ignoring the pain in his heart at what she had just said. He just smiled at her; not saying anything. "I know that's not what you want to hear but it's the truth. I'm the reason, it's my fault he had to grow up without a father; I don't regret killing the bastard but I do regret what I did Nathyn. I betrayed him and killed his own father. Why doesn't he hate me?"

"Because you're his Big Sister." His answer was so simple but it said more to Tessa than any long winded speech. Tessa looked up into Bervaso's eyes and she remembered why she fell in love with the man, but fate had played a cruel hand and now she was doomed to live with the curse of the Shadows.

"Bright-Eyes. I know how you feel about the Bay, I understand your pain and I hope that what you find out here will mend that pain, so that one day; you can come home and we can be together as fate made it." He did not move to kiss her, he did not even smile; he just tried to hide the tears in his eyes from her.

Tessa felt a pain her heart as he stood the bench and began to walk in the direction of inn, he just kept on walking until he disappered into the joyous noise of his men drinking away the long jouney. Tessa just sat there and stared at the Inn door; hoping that maybe her heart was somewhere else than her head, but this was not the truth. Letting out a sigh, Tessa stood from the bench and willed her ability as a shape changer take shape.

A bright light pushed the darkness of the night away, it engulfed Tessa in its radiance and her body began to shape and shift. In place of the venom green Argonian, was now a young Nord woman; a stoic build, pale skin, weathered leather armour, a Daedric Greatsword strapped to her back. In body she was Nord but her hair and eyes were the odd featrue of this Nord form: Venom green hair and yellow snake eyes, she could not change these no matter what form she took; a mark of her true self.

Tessa sighed as she began walking in the direction of the Skyrim border, she knew her fate lay in the frozen northern land and beyond; the Void was coming and without help; even Shadow Incarnate would not survive.

Author Note: Chapter One done! It took me a while: Work and Short attention span. I hope you peoples liked it, I am gonna update as regularly as I can. I am open to suggestions for things like: Plot, Items and Places. If you have a character you want me to add PM me: I need a member of the all races; save for Argonian. Also if you guys can leave a review I would appreciate it. 


End file.
